The High Court quashed reassessment proceedings where the notice under Section 148A(b), the order under Section 148A(d), and the consequent notice under Section 148 were all issued by the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer (JAO). It was held that the scheme notified by the Central Government under Section 151A of the Income-tax Act, 1961, mandates that such proceedings must be conducted in a faceless manner by a Faceless Assessing Officer (FAO) through an automated allocation system. Relying on its earlier rulings, the Court reiterated that the FAO has exclusive jurisdiction, and the JAO has no concurrent power to issue such notices. Since the mandatory faceless procedure was not followed, the very initiation of the proceedings was vitiated and held to be invalid. (AY. 2019-20)